No Mile As Long
by WinterSky101
Summary: In which Leia sends Poe after another one of her wayward siblings, and the mission to find his aunt Winter might be exactly what Poe needed. Post-TLJ.


**Title comes from this quote by Katherine Marsh: "There is no mile as long the final one that leads back home."**

* * *

The mood was subdued when Poe woke up, as it had been every morning since the tattered remains of the Resistance had landed on their current Outer Rim base. Other members and supporters were still trickling in, adding a bit more life to the base, but the recent deaths kept spirits from rising too high.

Poe didn't feel particularly in the mood to be cheerful anyway.

BB-8, who'd been absent from the room when Poe first woke, rolled in as he was getting dressed and bumped into his leg. _Friend-Poe! Friend-Poe, you have a note!_

"A note?" Poe repeated. "What sort of note?"

BB-8 extended a small piece of flimsiplast. Tentatively, Poe took it and unfolded it, reading the sharp script he would have recognized in his sleep, no matter the lack of signature.

_08:00, my quarters. Come alone. Do not tell anyone._

Poe frowned as he tucked the bit of flimsi into his pocket. "What do you think this is about?"

_I do not know,_ BB-8 replied. _All I know is that I was told to be very sneaky._ BB-8 rolled backwards a bit and looked up at Poe. _Was I very sneaky, Friend-Poe?_

Poe lips twitched into a hint of a grin as he patted BB-8's dome. "Yeah, you did great, buddy. Now come on, let's go get breakfast."

The mess hall could really only be loosely defined as such. It was small enough that, even withh their reduced numbers, it perpetually felt cramped. There were never enough chairs, so people who showed up later in the morning had to eat standing up. Although Poe normally showed up early enough that there were chairs remaining, he always stood anyway.

Finn, Rey, and Rose had already claimed a little table in the corner and were discussing something over bowls of the thin gruel that was the only breakfast option. Poe got himself a small bowl and a cup of caf and joined them.

"Morning," he said, leaning against the wall and sipping his caf.

_Good morning, Friend-Rey! Good morning, Friend-Finn! Good morning, Friend-Rose!_ BB-8 chirped.

The other three offered their greetings, then went back to their conversation, which seemed to be sharing stories they'd heard as children. Poe sank down to the ground, pushing his gruel around the bowl instead of eating it. He had stories he could have told, ones the others probably didn't know, but he didn't offer them up. He hadn't been able to sleep well the night before, although to be honest he couldn't quite remember the last time he had. Dreams of Kylo Ren invading his mind and the ships exploding before they could reach Crait had woken him up throughout the night, and as a result, he really didn't feel like he made for particularly pleasant company.

_Friend-Poe!_ BB-8 urged after a few minutes. _Friend-Poe, check the time!_

"Why do you need to check the time?" Rey asked as Poe looked for the closest chrono. It was 7:55, meaning he had five minutes before he was supposed to get to his secret meeting.

"Ah, I'm running a little late," he replied, looking at his barely-touched bowl of gruel and setting it on the table. "One of you can finish this if you want. I've got to go." He drained the rest of his caf in one gulp.

"Will we see you later?" Finn asked.

Poe forced a grin. "Yeah, I'm sure we will."

"Bye!" Rose called as Poe left the mess, BB-8 rolling along behind him.

_We are here, Friend-Poe!_ BB-8 cried when Poe, lost in thought, almost walked right past the door. _It is 08:00! We must go in!_

Poe, perhaps belatedly, wondered if the "come alone" part of the note had meant not to bring BB-8. It was too late now, he figured as he knocked on the door and waited for it to open.

"Poe," Leia said, standing in her doorway. Poe was struck, as he always seemed to be, with how much older she looked now than even a few weeks ago. "Come in. You didn't tell anyone, did you?"

"No, it's just me and BB-8," Poe replied, stepping in. BB-8 rolled in after him, chirping a greeting to Leia.

"Hello, BB-8," Leia replied with a slight smile. "It's nice to see you too."

"What do you need to talk to me about, General?" Poe asked, standing at attention.

Leia slapped his shoulder lightly. "Stand down, Captain. This isn't an official meeting. Have you eaten?"

"Um, not much," Poe admitted. "Why?"

"Sit down and I'll get you something," Leia said. "Go on, sit down."

Leia's quarters, by virtue of her being the general, were a little less sparse than everyone else's. She'd had to be bullied into accepting them, but Poe thought if anyone deserved nicer rooms, it was Leia. She had a little kitchenette and a small sitting area, and Poe obediently went over and sat down on the couch. BB-8 rolled over next to him.

"General, not that I don't enjoy spending time with you-"

"Flatterer," Leia accused from the kitchenette.

"-But is there a reason you wanted to see me?"

Leia came back over with a plate of tostones that she set on the table between them. "Here. I've been saving these."

"Are those tostones?" Poe asked, looking at the plate in surprise. "How did you get those?"

"There's a stall in the market nearby that sells them," Leia replied. "They're Festian, so not quite what either of us are used to, but they're not bad." She pushed the plate towards Poe. "Come on, eat. You look like you could use some food."

Poe tentatively took a tostón and took a bite. Leia was right, they were different from the ones he used to eat on Yavin, but they were close enough to provoke a wave of nostalgia.

"There is a reason I called you here," Leia said, sitting down in a chair across from Poe. "But this isn't an official meeting, and what I'm about to ask you to do is definitely not an order."

"What do you need?"

Leia sighed and sat back a bit. "I have a mission for you, if you want to take it. It'll be unofficial, though, and dangerous. And I can't promise that the Resistance can support you if something goes wrong. I don't know if we'd have the resources."

"This sounds a lot like what you said before you asked me to go find the map to Master Skywalker," Poe remarked, trying to sound flippant. "Are you sending me off to find another missing sibling?"

Leia leaned forward and picked up a tostón. She leaned back again, taking a bite as Poe stared at her. "Wait, really?" He thought wildly for a moment, then gaped at Leia. "You mean- Aunt Winter?"

Winter was Leia's sister, the other daughter of Bail and Breha Organa. She'd been friends with Poe's parents, stopping by occasionally throughout his childhood. Like Leia, she'd been one of his honorary aunts. Poe hadn't seen her in years, but as far as he'd known, she had gone back to her old job of intelligence gathering when the First Order started rising to power. But if Leia didn't know where she was…

"Winter was stationed on Hosnian Prime, keeping an eye on the situation in the Senate," Leia said. Poe's heart seized for a moment, but Leia quickly added, "She wasn't in the system when it was destroyed. She's currently on Isteia."

"You know where she is?" Poe asked, frowning. In that case, what exactly was his mission?

"I do," Leia agreed. "But she's not responding to my comms, and Isteia has just been taken by the First Order."

"She's on an Order-occupied planet?" Poe demanded, although he wasn't quite sure why he was so surprised. The Order occupied most of the galaxy at this point. "They'll kill her!"

"Winter can take care of herself," Leia said with a hint of amusement in her voice. "You've seen her records from the Rebellion. But I want to know why she's fallen out of contact." Leia gestured at Poe. "That's where you come in."

"You want me to go to an Order-occupied planet to see why Winter isn't answering you?" Poe asked.

"This is not an order," Leia said firmly. "I'm not asking you as your general, I'm asking you as a friend. And if you do take this mission, it'll be strictly need-to-know, and I can't promise that you'll have the Resistance, or whatever's left of it, behind you if something goes wrong. You'll be on your own."

Poe nodded. "I'll do it."

Leia eyed him. "You're sure? It's not going to be an easy mission, and I can't guarantee that you'll get out of it in one piece."

"I'll do it," Poe repeated.

Leia smiled at him. "I'm glad. I'll go get the recording of the last message she sent me. Eat those tostones."

"Yes, ma'am," Poe replied, picking up a tostón.

"Don't you ma'am me," Leia scolded as she picked up a small holorecorder. "I told you, this isn't an official meeting, so you have no reason to call me that."

"Fine, Aunt Leia," Poe retorted, smiling a little.

Leia smiled back as she set the holorecorder on the table and sat back down. "Here's the message from Winter."

The little blue figure of Winter was grainy, but even still, Poe could tell that she still looked the same as ever. _"Winter Retrac reporting,"_ she said, standing at attention. _"I'm currently on Isteia, looking into a report of increased First Order activity here. Thus far, I haven't found any evidence of the reported activity, but the investigation is ongoing."_ Her lips twitched into a smile as she relaxed a bit, barely visible through the grainy holorecording. _"Leia, you should see what this planet thinks passes for pasteles. It's shameful. Hosnian Prime may have its flaws, but at least there are people there who know how to cook."_ Winter's shoulders stiffened again, going back to the official posture she'd held before. _"After I finish here, I'll return to my position on Hosnian Prime and await new orders there. Winter Retrac out."_

"This message was sent on the same day that the Hosnian system was destroyed," Leia said as the holorecording stuttered to a stop. "And since then, she's seen the messages I've sent, but she hasn't replied to any of them. I know she's still on Isteia, but beyond that…" Leia shrugged. "I don't have much for you to go on, Poe."

"We didn't have much to go on with for the map either, and I found that," Poe replied. He did his best not to think about what happened immediately after he got his hands on the map. Master Skywalker had distracted the First Order for long enough that they could get away on Crait. It was worth it. "I can find Winter too."

"I have a contact coming tomorrow who should be able to get you to Isteia," Leia said. "But after that, you'll be on your own. I don't have a way for you to get off the planet."

"Winter and I will be able to figure it out," Poe replied. "It won't be the hardest thing either of us has ever done."

"Be careful," Leia warned. "I want both of you to come back."

_I will make sure they are alright!_ BB-8 chirped.

Leia frowned. "I think it's best if you sit this one out, BB-8. I don't think there are many astromechs on Isteia, and we don't want Poe to stand out."

BB-8 made a highly offended noise.

"Hey, you don't want to come anyway, buddy," Poe said quickly. "You'd need a new paint job if you came." After everything that happened with the search for the map, and then the warrant that went out on Canto Bight, BB-8 had turned into one of the most recognizable droids in the galaxy. BB-8 found the newfound fame rather flattering, but it did make undercover missions difficult.

BB-8's next noise was more mollified. _You must take care of yourself, Friend-Poe,_ they said firmly.

Poe offered his droid a smile. "I will. And you need to take care of everyone around here, okay? Keep an eye on things for me."

"My contact should be here tomorrow morning," Leia said, a fond smile on her face as she watched Poe and BB-8. "This mission has to be top secret, Poe. No one outside this room can know."

"Understood," Poe replied, nodding. "I'll be subtle."

"Tell Finn, Rey, and Rose that you're going on a secret mission, but don't tell them any specifics," Leia added. She grinned a little at Poe's surprise. "I know they're going to ask a lot of questions, and if I have to lie to them about what you're doing, I don't want it to have to conflict with whatever you said."

"Yes, ma'am," Poe replied cheekily. The prospect of a mission, even a dangerous one, was making him feel paradoxically calmer. He didn't think he could handle sitting around on base for a moment longer.

Leia made a face at the title. "You are a terrible nephew. Eat your tostones."

Poe ate his tostones.

* * *

"So you can't tell us anything?" Rose asked for the thousandth time.

"It's a secret," Poe said, looking through the things he'd shoved into a bag the night before. Leia's contact was due to arrive in a few minutes, which gave Poe just enough time to do a last-minute equipment check. "I'm sorry, but it's the General's orders."

"Is it a dangerous mission?" Finn asked.

Poe shrugged. "Any mission can be dangerous."

"That's a terrible answer," Rey scoffed.

"I'll be fine," Poe said, which wasn't much of an answer either. "Don't worry about me."

BB-8 made a disgruntled noise. They still weren't pleased that they couldn't go along with Poe, even though Poe had reminded them many times that they wouldn't have liked getting a new paint job any more than they liked staying behind.

"Be careful," Rey said.

"You three be careful too," Poe replied. "No crazy stunts while I'm not here to keep an eye on you, okay?" He shouldered his bag and offered the others a small smile. "I'll be back before you know it."

The three of them waved, then Poe left the room with BB-8, still grumbling, at his heels. They were determined to see Poe off, and Leia had agreed to let them come to the meeting with Leia's contact. To be entirely honest, Poe was a little curious as to who the mysterious contact would be. Leia hadn't given him a single hint. It had to be someone she trusted implicitly, or she wouldn't have asked for their help on such a secretive mission. Poe had spent half the night pondering it, but he knew Leia had more contacts than he knew about, so it was entirely possible he wouldn't know his pilot at all.

Leia was the only person on the flight pad. Poe hated seeing it so empty, but the only ships they had were the Falcon and a few ships that other members of the Resistance had flown in on. It was a fairly miserable fleet.

"Poe," Leia called when she caught sight of him. "Good, you're here. Your ride should be here in a minute."

"Any way I can get you to tell me who it is?" Poe asked, knowing the answer was no.

"You'll find out in a moment," Leia dismissed. "Be patient. Do you have everything you need?"

"I think so," Poe replied. "And I have the coordinates of Winter's last transmission. I'll start there."

A ship began to descend onto the flight pad. "There's your ride," Leia said, heading towards it. "Come on, let's go."

The figure in the doorway of the ship was a familiar one, even if Poe hadn't seen him in a few years. To be honest, he probably should have expected this. "General Calrissian!"

"General Calrissian?" Lando scoffed as he stepped out of the ship. "This isn't that official. You can just call me Lando."

"The boy's terrible about that," Leia said, stepping forward and hugging Lando. "It's good to see you again."

"You too, Leia," Lando replied, holding her tightly. "I'm so sorry about everything that's happened."

Poe shifted his weight from leg to leg, feeling a little uncomfortable. He wasn't really part of Leia's family, and this was very close to a family reunion. He didn't really belong here, not as a part of this group or a part of this grief.

"Dad?" a voice called from inside the ship a moment later. "I thought we were in a hurry."

"Aren't you gonna come out and say hello to your Aunt Leia?" Lando called back.

A woman a few years younger than Poe ducked out of the ship. "Hey, Aunt Leia," she said. "Hey, Poe."

"Hey, Hanako," Poe replied with a wave. Hanako, as well as her older brother Lando Jr., had been some of Poe's playmates when he was younger. They were both younger than him, but Poe had always liked helping out with the younger kids.

He didn't let himself think about that too much. Ben Solo had been one of those younger kids, and Poe knew he would lose any semblance of self-control if he let himself think about Ben Solo.

"Hello, Hanako," Leia said. "How's your mother?"

"She told me to say hi to you for her," Hanako replied. "And to say she's sorry about Uncle Han and Uncle Luke."

Leia smiled slightly, although Poe could see the sadness in it. "Give your mother my best when you see her."

"We are in a bit of a hurry," Lando admitted. "Getting Poe onto Isteia isn't going to be easy. You still can't tell me why he's going there?"

"The less people who know, the safer we all are," Leia replied apologetically.

Lando shrugged. "So long as you know you're gonna get it from Kes if Poe doesn't come back in one piece."

"My dad knows the work I do is important," Poe put in. "He won't blame Leia if something goes wrong."

Leia scoffed. "I'm not so sure about that. You should have heard what your father said when he commed to tell me you'd arrived after you escaped from the Finalizer. He'll definitely blame me."

"The Finalizer?" Lando repeated. "You escaped from the Finalizer? How did you do that?"

The thought of the ship made Poe's stomach twist a little, but he didn't mind thinking about his escape too much. "A stormtrooper rebelled and saved me. He's one of us now. His name is Finn."

"Oh, now you've got him started," Leia said, a fond smile on her face. "Poe can talk about Finn for hours."

"Well, we'll have time on the way to Isteia," Lando replied. "We should really get going. Come on, Poe."

Leia pulled Poe into an embrace before he could get on the ship. "Be careful," she whispered in his ear. "No unnecessary risks."

"I promise," Poe replied in an equally quiet voice, although he had a feeling that he and Leia had different definitions of "unnecessary," especially when it came to situations where he was only risking himself. "And I'll bring Aunt Winter home."

_Be careful, Friend-Poe!_ BB-8 cried. _Come home safe!_

"I will, buddy," Poe promised, resting his hand on BB-8's dome. "Stay out of trouble here, okay? I want you to stay safe too."

"Come on, Poe," Lando said, slinging an arm over Poe's shoulders when he turned away from BB-8 and towards the ship. "We can get all caught up on the trip. It's been too long. And you can tell me all about your Finn."

"Sounds good," Poe replied. He shot one last look at Leia, then he followed Lando onto the ship.

He would be back. This would be a dangerous mission, but it wouldn't be his last one. He would be back, and it would be with his Aunt Winter at his side.

* * *

Getting onto Isteia was time consuming, but hadn't required all that much work on Poe's part. He got the distinct feeling that it required a lot more work from Lando and Hanako, but whatever they were doing, they didn't let him see too much of it. It was for the same reason that he didn't tell them what he was going to do on Isteia. With a situation like this, the less you knew, the safer you were, and the safer everyone else was too. You couldn't give up information you didn't know, but Poe knew very well (better than he ever wanted) that once you knew something, it would never be safe again.

"Alright," Lando said when the ship landed on a quiet landing pad. "Are you sure you want to do this? If you change your mind, we can get you off the planet right now."

"I'm sure," Poe replied. "I need to do this."

Lando pulled Poe into a surprising hug. "Take care of yourself. Whatever you're doing here, don't take risks."

"I'll do my best," Poe replied.

"Don't make me tell Junior that you're dead," Hanako said, punching Poe lightly in the arm when Lando released him. "He'll get all whiney about it."

"I wouldn't want to make you go through that," Poe replied with a small grin. "I'll be careful."

"You should go now," Lando said, looking out the window. "The faster you're gone, the safer we'll all be."

"Thanks for the ride," Poe said, shouldering his pack.

"Be careful!" Lando called again as Poe stepped out of the ship. He waved as the ramp closed.

Isteia, or at least the area where Poe had landed, seemed to be somewhat of a deserted wasteland. Poe wondered why the First Order had even put the effort into taking it. There must have been more to it than Poe could see. Maybe he'd find something interesting when he got closer to civilization.

It was about an hour's walk to the nearest town. The coordinates of Winter's last message were on its outskirts, so Poe thought it was as good a place as any to start looking. He knew it wouldn't be easy. Even if Winter was still there, she had done enough undercover work during the Rebellion to know how to make herself completely unrecognizable. Add that to the fact that Poe hadn't seen her in years, and he was pretty sure there was a higher chance of Winter finding him than there was of him finding Winter. He would just have to hope that Winter would come to him if she saw him.

The town, when Poe finally reached it, was barely worthy of the name. It was tiny, more of a settlement than anything else. One street was lined with businesses, and a few other family homes were scattered around it. It did, however, give Poe the answer to his question as to why the First Order bothered with this Force-forsaken planet in the first place; it had mostly-untapped reserves of durelium. Poe tried not to think about how many hyperdrives the Resistance could make with all of the raw material. He tried not to think about how many hyperdrives the First Order was probably making either.

There was a small inn in the town, and Poe paid for a room for the night. In any other place, he would have asked where people tended to congregate in the town, but considering there was only one bar, he assumed it was there. That would be his first stop in his search for Winter.

Before he went to the bar, though, Poe went to his new room and did his best to clean himself up. His clothes had seen better days, and the circles under his eyes would be difficult to hide, but he splashed some water on his face and combed through his hair with his fingers. He had to look normal. If he couldn't look _nice_, he had to at least make sure he didn't look too bad. A reputable young man would be far less memorable than a disreputable one, and Poe didn't want to be remembered.

When he was as cleaned up as he was going to get, Poe headed out of the inn and down the street to the bar. The dinner crowd seemed to have already arrived, but it was small enough that Poe could still find a table for himself and order a bowl of the vegetable soup. He scanned the room as he waited for his soup to come, but he didn't see anyone he recognized as Winter. There were six female patrons in the bar, two of them visibly about the right age, but none of them looked enough like Winter for him to suspect that they were really her. Then again, considering Winter's skills at disguise, Poe supposed she could be anyone in the room.

A waitress brought Poe's soup over to him. "Here you go, sugar," she said, setting the bowl down. "You want some bread with that? It's supposed to cost a couple of extra credits, but I can get you a slice for free."

"In my experience, there's no such thing as something being for free," Poe replied, trying to keep his voice easy. He looked up at the waitress, smiling a little. She looked a little older than him, but not much. Her hair was reddish-blonde and twisted into a knot at the nape of her neck, and her blue eyes had slit pupils. Poe was pretty sure he could see the edge of gills peeking out above her collar.

"Really?" the waitress asked. "With a face like yours, you don't get all sorts of things for free? I would think people would be fawnin' over you left and right."

Poe chuckled a little. "Thanks, I guess. Uh, bread would be nice, but I can pay for it."

"No need," the waitress replied. "I'll grab you a piece."

"Thanks," Poe repeated, stirring his soup and tasting a spoonful. It was surprisingly good. Then again, considering the food they'd been eating back at the Resistance base, Poe probably would have found anything to be better than that.

The waitress returned a moment later with a thick slice of bread. "Our secret, sugar," she said, putting a finger to her lips with a wink. Something about the action seemed almost familiar, but Poe couldn't place why.

"Thank you," Poe said, offering the waitress his most charming smile. "Are you sure I can't do anything to repay you?"

"Your pretty face is payment enough," the waitress replied, patting Poe's cheek. "And you look like you could use more to eat. Fallen on hard times?"

"You could say that."

"Here for a job in the mines?"

"Here looking for someone, actually," Poe replied. "My aunt was visiting here, but my other aunt hasn't been able to get in contact with her in a couple of days."

"I know pretty much everyone around here," the waitress replied. "Maybe I can help you find her. What does she look like?"

"Um… About your height. Human. White hair, dark eyes. She's a little over fifty standard years old, but she doesn't look it."

"Hmm." The waitress frowned. "Can't think of anyone who fits that description. You sure she's in this town?"

"Last we knew, she was," Poe replied. "But she might have moved on. Don't know where, though."

"How 'bout this," the waitress offered. "You stay here for a couple more days, and I'll talk to friends in some of the towns nearby. Maybe one of them has seen your aunt."

"Thanks," Poe said, scraping up a grin.

"I hope you find her," the waitress added, putting a hand on Poe's shoulder and squeezing lightly. "Anything else you need, you know where to find me."

The waitress left and Poe went back to his soup, eating it slowly. He scanned the room a few more times, looking up whenever anyone entered the bar, but he didn't see anyone who looked like Winter. He hadn't really expected to, but it was a disappointment none the less.

When Poe finished his soup, he paid at the bar and returned to his room at the inn. He locked the door, then put a little contraption over the lock that made it impossible to unlock the door until it was removed. He wasn't expecting trouble, but he was on an Order-occupied planet, no matter how light the occupation seemed to be, and he would rather be safe than sorry. Paranoia, as Leia liked to wryly say, was a good survival tactic when half the galaxy really was out to get you.

The bed was uncomfortable, but Poe had slept in worse places. He leaned over to turn off the lights, then he closed his eyes and began to slow his breathing. It was a trick his mother had taught him to help him fall asleep as a child, and although it didn't always work when his insomnia was acting up, Poe always found it to be a good starting point.

As usual, his stress had to battle against his exhaustion, and this time, the stress won out. After a few minutes of trying to fall asleep, Poe sat up and turned the lights back on. If slow breathing wouldn't work, he would try to tire himself out physically and hope that worked. Dropping to the floor, Poe began a set of pushups, welcoming the burn that began to set into his muscles. Hopefully, if he exhausted his body enough, his mind would follow suit and he would be able to fall asleep.

One hundred pushups and fifty sit-ups later, Poe crawled into bed and hoped he would be able to fall asleep. He turned off the lights, closed his eyes, and slowed his breathing. Within a few minutes, he fell asleep.

An hour later, he woke up choking on a scream.

Maybe sleep wouldn't be an option that night.

* * *

The next morning, Poe only began to feel vaguely human again after a shower and two cups of caf. He'd only been able to get scattered moments of sleep the night before, and he was suffering for it. He couldn't remember the last time he'd gotten a good night's sleep.

"Whoa, sugar!" The same waitress was working at the bar again, and she stared at Poe with wide eyes when she brought him his third cup of caf and a bowl of porridge. "You look like you got hit by a speeder!"

"I thought I had a pretty face," Poe replied, offering her a weak grin.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" the waitress asked, setting down the caf and the porridge.

"Not much," Poe replied. "My sleep schedule is a little messed up from the travel here."

The waitress frowned. "You tried any sleep aids?"

"Not a fan." Poe had tried various sleep aids to help with his sleeping problems, but he found that they made it more difficult for him to wake from his nightmares. He would rather not get enough sleep then be stuck in a repeating dream of Kylo Ren digging around in his mind, so he had stopped using the sleep aids fairly quickly.

"Ever tried warm milk?" the waitress offered. "My friend swears by it. Says it puts her kid out like a light."

"Maybe I'll try it tonight," Poe replied.

The waitress hovered for another moment. "Take care of yourself, sugar."

"I will," Poe promised.

Someone across the bar called for the waitress, and she turned and left. Poe drank his cup of caf and picked at his porridge. He didn't have much of an appetite, although he knew he should eat.

Poe was halfway through his bowl when he heard the familiar clomping of stormtrooper boots. His heart immediately began to pound as he scanned for the closest exit, but before he could even stand, the door of the bar opened and a First Order officer stepped in, flanked by four troopers.

"We have received word that there are Resistance sympathizers here," the officer stated. Poe's heart kicked into hyperdrive. "Everyone, remain seated while we run everyone's identities. You should have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide."

Poe most definitely had something to hide, but there was no where he could go. The only weapon he had on him was a small holdout blaster hidden in his boot, so fighting his way out wouldn't work too well. He wondered if the First Order was looking for him, or if this was just some horrible coincidence. Either way, he didn't think this would end well.

"Poe," a voice hissed. He turned to see the waitress crouching behind the bar, just barely visible. Her accent had suddenly changed to something far more upperclass. "Poe, come with me."

"How do you know my name?" Poe demanded. He knew he hadn't introduced himself, and he was staying at the inn under a false name.

The waitress made a noise of irritation, then she reached one hand up, tucking it under the knot of hair at the nape of her neck. She pressed something and her face shimmered, revealing itself to be a mask. For a moment, it disappeared entirely, and Poe could see her real face underneath.

It was a face he knew very well.

"_Winter_?"

Winter set her mask back in place and jerked her head towards the kitchen. "Come on. While they're occupied. There's a back way out."

Poe grabbed his bag and slipped behind the bar while the officer wasn't looking. Crouching, he followed Winter into the kitchen, which thankfully was empty. There were no officers guarding the back door, so they were able to slip out fairly easily.

"Where are you staying?" Winter demanded.

"The inn," Poe replied. "Aunt Winter-"

"Not the time, Poe," Winter interrupted. "Let's go get your things. We can go to my house and hole up there until the First Order leaves."

"And we can talk," Poe added. "What I said about my aunt-"

"I figured it was only a matter of time before Leia sent someone after me," Winter replied with a small smile. It didn't quite reach her eyes. "We can talk about that once we're someplace safer."

"Sure, right," Poe agreed. "I can go get my stuff from the inn."

"Then let's go," Winter replied, taking Poe's hand and pulling him down the road.

They snuck into Poe's room through the window, and Poe grabbed his packed bag. "You remembered," Winter said with a small smile.

"Always keep your things together, in case you need a quick escape," Poe replied. "It's been helpful on missions before."

"Come with me, and you can tell me more about those missions," Winter said. She led Poe down the street, skulking in the shadows to keep out of sight of the few stormtrooperers milling around the town.

"My house is this way," Winter said, pulling Poe out into the wasteland around the town. "It's not much, but it'll do until the First Order leaves."

"They've taken over the planet," Poe replied. "It's not safe."

"I should be able to arrange transport off-planet in a few days, when the supplier for the bar comes back," Winter replied. "We can send you back to Leia."

Poe frowned at Winter. "You're coming back with me, aren't you?"

Winter looked at him for a moment, then looked forward and pulled him along behind her. "Let's get back to my house. We need to get out of the open before we're seen."

Poe obediently followed Winter, although his mind was whirring. Winter didn't intend on coming back? If she knew Leia would send someone, if she knew that Leia wanted her to come back to the Resistance, why was she planning on staying?

"Here we are," Winter said, stopping in front of a small building. She unlocked the door and ushered Poe in. "Not much, but we've both slept in worse."

Poe looked around. It was small and spartan, but Winter was right; they'd both slept in worse. He turned back to face Winter. "You said we could talk once we got here."

"I did," Winter agreed. She sighed and pulled a small metal disk away from the back of her neck. The mask of the waitress disappeared and her normal features returned. Her hair was still strawberry blonde instead of white, but it wasn't enough to make her unrecognizable. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions. Go ahead."

"Aunt Leia said you were posted on Hosnian Prime," Poe said.

"I was."

"Does that have anything to do with… why you don't want to come back?"

Winter looked at Poe, then shook her head wryly. "Always so perceptive, Poe. More perceptive than people give you credit for."

"How long were you on Hosnian Prime?"

"A few years," Winter replied. "Long enough to be comfortable."

"And then it was destroyed."

Winter's smile had no humor in it. "Another home, gone."

"But you still have family," Poe protested. "You still have Aunt Leia-"

"I do," Winter agreed. "And I still agree that the First Order needs to be destroyed, but I need a break, Poe. This war has been going on since I was born. Even in the time between the destruction of the Empire and the rise of the First Order, we were still fighting. I have lost my parents and my home planet to this fight. I have lost almost everything, and I need a break."

Poe blinked. "But, Aunt Winter-"

"I'll get you back to Leia," Winter said. "But I can't come back with you."

"No."

Winter arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"No," Poe repeated. "No, I need to bring you back. Leia is counting on me. I need to- I need to do this, I need to do this _right_-"

"Leia won't blame you," Winter said, frowning as she took a step towards Poe. "She knows how stubborn I can be. She'll know it wasn't your fault."

"Everything has been my fault," Poe said, shaking his head and stumbling a step back. "I need to do something right."

Winter's frown deepened. She put a gentle hand on Poe's shoulder. "Poe, whatever you've done, it's alright."

Poe shook his head, the movement almost frantic. "It's not. I've destroyed the Resistance."

Winter froze, then she led Poe to the bed and sat him down on the edge. "Tell me everything."

The whole story spilled out: the mission to find the map to Luke Skywalker, Poe's captivity on the Finalizer, the destruction of Starkiller Base and death of Han Solo, the evacuation and the massive death toll he caused, the attack on the remaining ships, his mutiny against Vice Admiral Holdo while Leia was in a coma, the final stand on Crait, and the desperate evacuation onto the Falcon and, finally, to their base in the Outer Rim. Winter was silent the whole time. Her face didn't betray a single hint of emotion. Her ability to control her expressions was part of what made her such a good spy, but Poe didn't want a spy, he wanted his aunt.

"Say something. Please."

Winter sighed, and for a moment, every minute of her fifty years was visible on her face. "Everyone makes mistakes, Poe. What's important is that you were trying to do the right thing."

"Tell that to the bombers and pilots who died when I went up against the Dreadnaught," Poe retorted. "Or to the people in the shuttles, or… or…"

"Poe," Winter said softly, shutting him up instantly. A part of him was terrified to hear what she would say, but he couldn't help but listen.

"Everyone makes mistakes. And sometimes, those mistakes cost lives. I've made bad calls before, and people have died because of them." Winter looked Poe in the eye. "But that just means we need to keep fighting. We need to fight better and harder. You need to learn from your mistakes, and then you need to get back out on the battlefield and make new ones." She shrugged. "It's just how war is, Poe. And I wish on all the stars that you had never had to fight in a war like this, but that's not how things came to pass, and we can't change that. We just need to move on."

"You're not."

Winter flinched as if Poe had struck her. Poe immediately felt bad for saying it, even though he wasn't entirely wrong.

"Poe, I-"

"No, Aunt Winter, I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"You're right."

Poe blinked. "What?"

Winter visibly steeled herself. "You're right. I'll come back." She offered Poe a wry smile. "It seems we both need to keep fighting."

Poe hesitated for a moment. "Aunt Winter, if you don't want to come back…"

"Leia needs me," Winter said firmly. "And I would go stir-crazy on this rock before too long. So." Her lips curved into a dangerous smile. "Let's figure out how to get home."

* * *

Winter offered her bed to Poe, but Poe insisted that she take it. He didn't think he'd be able to sleep much anyway, and he wasn't about to steal Winter's bed away from her.

She was probably sleeping, given how even her breathing was, but Poe still couldn't. The floor wasn't that uncomfortable in the grand scheme of places where Poe had slept, and he even had a pillow and a blanket, but none of that mattered. His brain wouldn't quiet, and he saw Kylo Ren reaching for him every time he closed his eyes.

Poe stood, going to the little kitchenette and getting himself a glass of water. He sat on the floor and sipped it slowly, trying to relax.

"I told you to try warm milk, not cold water," Winter said, getting up from the bed and walking over to him.

"I thought you were sleeping."

"I'm a light sleeper."

"Sorry for waking you up."

"Helping you is more important than sleep." Winter sat down next to Poe. "So, what thing did you gloss over that's keeping you up"

Poe stared down into his glass. "Have you ever been interrogated?"

"Many, many times," Winter replied. "You know that."

"Have you ever been interrogated with the Force?"

Winter's eyes went wide with horror. "Oh, Poe."

"He was in my head," Poe said, his voice shaking. "He could see _everything_, and… And he was just digging around, and… He's _Ben_, Winter. He's Leia's son. How could he…?"

"Oh, Poe," Winter sighed again, pulling Poe into an embrace. "I'm so sorry."

"Sometimes it feels like he's still there," Poe admitted, letting Winter hold him and trying not to shake apart. "How do I know he's gone?"

"Leia would have been able to tell if he were there," Winter replied. "Your mind is your own, Poe."

"Have you ever felt it?" Poe asked, pulling away a bit. "You didn't answer."

Winter pressed her lips together. "Once. It was an Inquisitor. The only reason I didn't give in was because my squad bombed the base and got me out."

"How did you move past it?"

Winter shrugged. "I didn't have any other options. The war was… different then. These days, the First Order is trying to take over the galaxy. Back then, the Empire already ruled it. I was a high-ranking intelligence officer. I didn't have the option to fall apart." She sighed, leaning her head back against the cabinets. "I didn't have time to myself until the war finally ended years later, and by that point, I had other, fresher memories of torture."

"So you just… ignored it?" Poe asked, wondering how exactly she'd managed it.

Winter swallowed, then looked over at Poe with a wealth of sorrow in her eyes. "I have been shoving my feelings aside since I was a child. Once I began trying to ignore trauma, I'd already been compartmentalizing for years. And it made me… cold."

"You're not cold," Poe countered immediately.

"I can be," Winter replied. "You're not like me, Poe. You won't be able to ignore these things the way I did. And even if you could, it's not the way to do it."

"What do I do, then?" Poe demanded. "I can't- I can't just keep going like this."

"We all need to keep moving forward," Winter replied. She pulled Poe in for another hug. "I never wanted this for you. None of us did. We fought so hard so you wouldn't have to." She sighed and curled a hand around the back of Poe's head. "We failed, and I'm sorry."

"You didn't fail. We just have more to do."

Winter released Poe, putting one hand on his cheek. "You have so much of your mother in you."

"Would she be proud of me?" Poe asked, unable to help it.

Winter smiled, even as her eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Poe, she would be _so_ proud."

"Even after-"

"There's nothing you could do to make her not proud of you," Winter interrupted.

Poe opened his mouth to argue, but he was cut off by a yawn. Winter laughed, then yawned herself.

"We should sleep. We're going to need to start planning our escape from here, and I have work tomorrow."

"Okay," Poe replied, although he didn't think he'd be able to sleep.

"Do you want to try warm milk before you sleep?" Winter asked, her lips twitching into a small grin. "My mother used to give it to me and Leia when we were little and couldn't sleep."

"Did it work?"

Winter's smile grew. "Depended on whether or not we kept each other up by chatting. We could be very talkative late at night. Mother and Father ended up having to put us in separate bedrooms."

Poe couldn't help but smile a little. "Will you keep me up chatting?"

Winter rolled her eyes. "Don't be cheeky, Poe. Go to sleep."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Don't you ma'am me, we're not even on an official mission."

Poe got up and offered Winter a hand to pull herself to her feet. "Goodnight, Aunt Winter."

Winter smiled at Poe, reaching up to pat his cheek lightly. "Goodnight, Poe."

Winter went back to her bed and Poe went to the little nest of blankets they'd made on the floor. It wasn't that comfortable, but it was far from the least comfortable place he'd ever slept. He took a slow, measured breath, and then let it out.

He didn't think he'd be able to go to sleep, but almost before he knew it, he had.

* * *

Poe woke to find the little house empty. There was a note from Winter on the table, saying that she had gone to work. Poe was supposed to keep a low profile, especially considering there were still First Order officers hanging around. If all went according to plan, they'd be able to get off the planet the next day.

Poe wasn't too confident about everything going according to plan - nothing ever seemed to go completely according to plan, at least not in his experience - but he was glad to have an escape route figured out.

He milled around the house until Winter got back that evening, taking her mask off with a sigh. "The supplier is still coming tomorrow, as planned, so we should be able to sneak off aboard that ship," she stated. "How was your day?"

"Boring," Poe replied honestly. "You don't have much here."

Winter's lips quirked into a grin. "It's a temporary place to stay, not a playground. Did you get any rest? You don't look quite as bad as you did before."

"I didn't have nightmares last night," Poe replied. "Even without your hot milk."

"_Warm_, not hot," Winter corrected. "Hot milk isn't soothing, warm milk is."

"Sorry," Poe replied, grinning a bit. "Maybe I'll try it tonight."

"First, we should figure out the plan for our escape," Winter said. "Hopefully, it'll go smoothly, but I think we both know better than to expect that."

"I don't think anything has gone smoothly for me since I joined the Resistance," Poe replied, only half joking. "We need to plan for the worst."

"I might be able to talk to the suppliers and get them to agree to smuggle me off-world," Winter said. "I've worked with them for a while now, and they're not fans of the First Order."

"That's risky," Poe warned. "And they probably won't agree to smuggle me off."

"You're going to need to sneak on," Winter agreed. "The suppliers will stop to restock and refuel on Malastare. We'll get off there and find passage the rest of the way."

"We should both sneak on," Poe countered. "You asking for passage is an unnecessary risk."

"You may well be right," Winter agreed. "But how are we going to get on without anyone noticing? I'm supposed to be there to offload things for the bar."

"Call in sick," Poe suggested. "They'll realize something is wrong before too long, but it'll give us a day or so."

"If I'm not there to offload the supplies, the other waitress will do it. She's not Resistance, but she doesn't like the First Order either, so we might be able to get her to help us."

"I don't think we should rely on other people too much," Poe protested. "If they betray us-"

"We can't do this on our own," Winter countered.

"You pulled off a million escapes during the Rebellion!"

"I had a team behind me. I couldn't have done half those things without backup."

Poe knew the importance of a team, but he also knew the importance of not revealing too much to people you couldn't trust. He had no desire to give anyone a rope of secrets to hang him with.

"Leia didn't tell you anything about extraction, did she?" Winter asked.

"Not really," Poe replied. "All she said was that the Resistance wouldn't be able to come after me if something went wrong."

"Do you know anything about how you were smuggled onto the planet?"

Poe shook his head. "Lando kept that to himself."

Winter's eyes brightened a bit. "Lando brought you?"

"Lando and Hanako."

Winter shook her head in fond amusement. "I haven't seen Lando in… Stars, it's been _years_. How is he?"

"He's good. Missing Han, but we all are."

The brightness disappeared from Winter's eyes in an instant. "I hadn't seen him in years either," she admitted. "Nor Luke."

"No one had seen Luke in years," Poe agreed. "And Han disappeared around the same time too."

"Han was always a good man, but prone to running away," Winter said. "But he always came back."

"Except this time."

Winter sighed deeply. "Except this time." She hesitated, then asked, "How's Leia taking it?"

"Aunt Leia is Aunt Leia," Poe replied. "She's okay. But losing both Han and Luke wasn't easy for her. She won't really talk about it, but I can tell."

"I know," Winter agreed. "That's why she sent you to find me." At Poe's confused look, she elaborated, "I've disappeared before, and she's never sent anyone after me. She trusts me to come back, and she knows I know what I'm doing. But now… This is Leia asking for help."

"She needs someone," Poe admitted. "She… She's lost a lot. We all have. But most of the other commanders have been wiped out. I think _I_ might be second in command, and she demoted me to captain. She needs someone to help her lead."

"I've always been better at taking down leaders, to be honest," Winter said with a small grin.

"Aunt Leia said you were always better at remembering the rules on Alderaan," Poe countered. "She said you would have made a better queen."

"I could remember the rules because my memory is perfect," Winter replied dryly. "And I was never meant to be queen. I was always meant to be the force behind the throne. Leia would rule, and I would stand in the shadows and make sure nothing threatened that." Winter huffed out a small laugh. "Maybe nothing's changed."

"She needs you," Poe said quietly.

"And she's going to get me," Winter agreed. "We'll smuggle ourselves off-planet, and we'll get back to Leia whatever it takes."

Silently, Poe promised himself that he would do exactly that. No matter what it took, he would get Aunt Winter home.

* * *

Getting onto the supply ship went surprisingly well. Poe and Winter snuck on, hid in the cargo bay, and snuck off when they landed before anyone noticed they'd been there at all. Really, it went better than they could have expected.

The trouble only started when they reached Malastare.

"You know," Winter said, leaning against a wall with a sigh, "it would be nice to visit somewhere and _not_ get shot at, for once."

Poe huffed out a laugh. "We haven't tried asking nicely yet, maybe that'll do the trick."

"If getting the First Order to stand down was as easy as asking nicely, we'd all have much more boring lives," Winter replied. "Ready to run again?"

"Ready if you are."

They both took off down the alley, Winter firing over her shoulder with the holdout blaster she'd apparently been keeping under her wide belt this whole time. From the yelp behind them, she must have hit something. Poe wanted to turn around and see how many Stormtroopers were still following them, but he couldn't risk slowing down long enough to do so.

They hurtled down a skinny side street, then Winter grabbed Poe's arm and dragged him into a seedy bar. The clientele hardly looked up at their dramatic entrance, and the bartender only grunted out, "Buy something or get out."

"Corellian whiskey," Winter said, walking over to the bar and pulling out a few credits. Poe followed her, nervously looking over his shoulder at the entrance to the bar.

"Aunt Winter-"

Winter gestured at Poe to hush as she exchanged credits for a slug of Corellian whiskey in a filthy-looking glass. "If someone wanted to get a cheap ship," she asked, and Poe listened in surprise as her accent harshened over the words, "where would be the best place to go?"

"Cheap ships?" the bartender repeated. "Go to the podracing district, that's where all of those shops are."

"Cheers," Winter said, downing the whiskey and tossing the bartender another credit chip. "You got a back door?"

The bartender nodded towards the back of the bar, and Winter brought Poe over to it and slipped out just before a Stormtrooper entered the bar.

"How did you know-"

"Sketchy bar like that? There's always a back door," Winter replied. "And I doubt they're too friendly with the First Order. I paid for my information, and the bartender knows that last couple of credits was to pay for his silence. He's not going to tell anyone."

"And the whiskey?"

"Cheapest thing in a bar like that, and we had to buy something," Winter replied. She offered Poe a bit of a grin as they started towards the podracing district. "Plus, it's not a bad drink, once you get used to it."

"You _like_ Corellian whiskey?"

"I used to go out drinking with Han. After a certain point, I had to start liking it."

"You would go out drinking with Han?"

"We were friends before I even knew he knew Leia," Winter replied. "We met on a heist."

"You ran a heist with Han?" There were, apparently, a lot of things Poe didn't know about his supposedly strait-laced aunt.

Winter's grin grew. "Technically, I was sworn to secrecy, but that was over thirty years ago, so I'll tell you the story once we're on our way to safety. For now, we need to get our hands on a ship."

"Fine, but then you're telling me everything," Poe replied, following Winter down a side street.

"Deal."

They reached the podracing district before the First Order found them, and Poe watched nervously over his shoulder while Winter found a shipyard with a decent ship and haggled with the owner over a price. By the time she managed to bargain him down to something that they could afford, Poe had spotted familiar white helmets entering the district. The Stormtroopers didn't seem to have noticed them yet, which was their only saving grace.

"Alright, come on," Winter told Poe, gesturing at the ship. She'd clearly noticed the Stormtroopers too. "Get on."

"And it's got enough fuel and everything?" Poe confirmed.

"It should. Let's get going."

They both climbed into the ship, and Winter began to fiddle with the controls. "Do you have any experience with this sort of ship?" she asked, her voice tightening a little the way it always did when she was stressed. "It doesn't seem to want to start."

"Honestly, I don't even know what sort of ship this is," Poe admitted.

"It seems to be a mix of about sixteen different ships, and not the best parts of any," Winter replied, her voice growing tighter and tighter. They were sitting ducks in this ship, and both of them knew it. If they couldn't get it to start and had to run, the chances that they'd both get out of there were slim. They'd given up their head start for the ship, and if the ship didn't _work_…

The engine coughed and spluttered under Winter's ministrations, which attracted the attention of the Stormtroopers. There were four of them, and they all started jogging towards the ship. Poe watched them for a moment, then he grabbed Winter's blaster.

"You get off and run. I'll hold them off."

"Don't be an idiot," Winter retorted sharply. "I'll get the ship moving and we'll both get out of here. I need to bring you back to Leia."

"No, _I_ need to bring _you_ back to Leia," Poe protested. "I promised her-"

"Poe Dameron, do not take another step towards that door," Winter said, her voice even sharper as her attempts to start the ship grew more frantic.

"If I hold them off-"

"Poe-"

Poe palmed the door open and raised his blaster. "Tell Leia-"

The ship shuddered under them and finally took off, and Poe almost stumbled forward off of it. Thankfully, it was small enough that Winter could grab the back of his shirt and yank him back in so hard he fell backwards instead, then she slammed the door shut and the ship flew off.

"What," Winter said, her voice trembling slightly with fury, "the _hell_ was that?"

Poe's hands were shaking, just a bit. It was hardly noticeable except for the fact that the gun was occasionally making little noises against the floor when he shook it close enough to do so. "I had to keep you safe," he said, and his voice shook as much as his hands.

"And why the hell do you think that?" Winter demanded. Poe didn't think he'd ever seen her this angry before. "I'm your aunt, Poe. I'm the one who's supposed to protect you. What do you think your father would say if I got you killed? What do you think Leia would say? Star's sake, Poe, what were you _thinking_?"

"I was thinking," Poe snapped, pushing himself to his feet, "that if the First Order was coming, it was better if they only caught one of us instead of both."

"We were about to take off-"

"We didn't know if the ship would work-"

"That's still not an excuse to sacrifice yourself!" Winter snapped. "For no reason! Poe-"

"I haven't been able to help anyone by being alive!" Poe yelled. "If my dying could help someone, you can be damn sure I was going to do it."

Winter rocked backwards, silent and horrified. "_Poe_," she breathed after a moment, "do you really think that?"

Poe's chest was still heaving, as much as he tried to slow his frantic breathing down. "It's true," he said, his voice much quieter. "I need to do something right, Aunt Winter. I need to get you home."

"You will," Winter promised gently. "We're going home right now. You'll get me home."

Poe's shaking hadn't stopped, so Winter pulled him into an embrace, wrapping her arms around him tightly and holding him close. "We're going home," she whispered in his ear. "You did it right, Poe. We're going home."

* * *

The ship's landing gear was awful, as Poe discovered when he tried to land it at the new Resistance base. Still, he was able to set it down, and Winter and Leia embraced tightly the second they reached each other. Poe was so caught up in watching them that he hardly noticed the arrival of Finn, Rey, Rose, and BB-8, all of whom rushed to his side and demanded details of his mission.

"Is that Winter Retrac?" Rose demanded.

"The intelligence officer?" Finn asked. "I thought her hair was supposed to be white."

"That's my aunt Winter," Poe said with a small grin. "She's Leia's sister. I brought her home."

And the others couldn't have known how much that meant to Poe, not really, but maybe his voice gave him away, because Rey rested her head on his shoulder and said, "You did well," and BB-8 beeped their agreement. Then Finn grabbed Poe's hand and dragged him into the base, telling him something about a new arrival that Poe only half heard, and Rose and Rey followed them, both chatting as well. Poe cast a last, fleeting glance at his aunts before he was pulled inside, and he saw they were still clinging to each other, clearly both relieved to be together again.

And maybe things still weren't perfect - maybe a lot of things were still pretty damn far from perfect - but maybe, just maybe, some things were going to be okay.


End file.
